The NFL Combine is finally here starting Tuesday February 28, 2017. You know the NFL Combine: The place where aspiring football players bounce a 225 bar from their chest. The place where 4.5 speed isn’t really fast. The place where phrases like “draft stock” are used like draft stock is a real tangible thing instead of just the manifestation of pre-draft rumors.

AH THE COMBINE!

Really the first couple of days are orientation, medial exams and measurements but by Thursday March 2, 2017 the OL, RBs and special teamers will begin their fist set of drills.

Here are some players worth watching at the combine. All of them will kill your dreams:

Reuben Foster, LB, Alabama.

Admit it Dolfans…you covet Reuben Foster. He would be the perfect pick for us. Pound for pound Foster is considered by many to be the best linebacker in the draft. But he is unlikely to be around when the Dolphins pick.

So why should a Dolfan watch Foster at the combine? Here’s why: You are an idiot. You need to see you dreams die. The sooner the better.

When Foster demonstrates his notable athleticism at the combine, he will solidify his position as a top 10 pick. Only then can enjoy the death of your dreams of acquiring the talented linebacker.

2. Ethan Pocic, LSU, OL

I’ve heard some mutterings on this blog about Pocic. Think you are gonna get a shot at quality OL with experience at both center and guard?

At a minimum you will get a chance to watch talented players like Pocic, Pat Elfein, Dan Feeney and Forrest Lamb first as they will be the first to start recording their scores on the various events.

Here is the thing about Pocic: He’s huge. Like 6’6 to 6’7 huge. And that’s what makes him such an interesting prospect to watch at the combine. Rumor has it, some teams are looking at him as a Tackle. He does not have a lot of experience at tackle. But if his combine numbers stack up, he may be drafted to play tackle. If that happens – watch his draft stock shoot up and again, kill your dreams.

The Dolphins will not be drafting Pocic if another teams thinks he can be a starting tackle.

3. Jabril Peppers, Michigan, Various Positions

Yeah I don’t know what position he plays either. But maybe, just maybe he is an ideal 4-3 OLB with outstanding coverage skills. He might be positionless – but his athleticism is very real. I expect to hear a lot of fawning over Peppers at the combine. And when Mike Maycock fawns over a player there is lot of drool. So it’s gross.

Early in the college season Peppers was one of the top 5 players in college football. But that ambiguity about his position has caused him to appear to be slipping maybe into the 2nd round.

Will that last until the draft? NO! Peppers was built to dominate the combine. So if you started to believe that Peppers will be available at #22, then your dreams are bound to die at the combine as he blows it up.

4. Joe Mixon, Oklahoma, RB

Yes I said Joe Mixon. If you don’t know already, Mixon is a dirtbag. Not only that but Mixon was not invited to the combine because of his involvement in being a dirtbag. But you will feel like he is there. Why? Because life sucks – that is why.

See the RB position this year is top heavy with 3 very talented RBs: Cook, Fournette and McCaffrey. That trio is so strong we might see 3 first round running backs this year. But when you get past those three players – then where do you go? Its possible come April that the 4th running back to come off the board is Mixon.

And you will be reminded about his talents while he is not at the combine. Mixon might be the fastest RB to come out this year. I full expect a comment about what his score would have been if he was there. When a dirtbag gets a mention at the combine and increases his “draft stock” your dreams will die.

5. Evan Engram, Ole Miss, TE

Now we are talking. What an athlete Egram is! Should be fun to watch him do catching drills. Hey what’s his vertical? Wow really – that high?!?! This tight end class is something else. There are so many great tight ends in this draft. It is truly the year of the Tight End. We have to draft one!

Oh…we just traded for a veteran…

Okay…I will try to stomach watching the talented tight ends in this class knowing we won’t be drafting one. R.I.P. my dreams.

6. Patrick Mahomes, QB, Texas Tech

Don’t get you Tannepanties in a bunch. I’m not talking about his replacement. I actually don’t know a thing about Mahomes. I don’t know if he is a franchise QB. But what I do know is teams are always looking for franchise QBs. I’m talking about unreasonable QB awe. Remember EJ Emanuel and JP Loshman. The Bills are looking for a QB in 2017 again!

I will never forget the 2011 draft. 4 QBs in the first 12 picks. “It’s a QB centric league!” And a bunch of good players fell deeper and deeper in the draft. That’s what we need if we want Reuben Foster.

Okay – now look at that picture above and tell me you trust a guy who sticks his tongue out when he throws to mislead NFL scouts about his talent. This photo doesn’t say franchise QB, it says glue sniffer.

Your dreams will die. The QB class this year is….not so good…

7. Derek Rivers, Youngstown State, Edge

If you watched Youngstown State this year you could not miss Rivers.

What am I talking about?!?! You didn’t watch Youngstown State this year. In fact, you didn’t even know there was a Youngstown State until now. Quick – No Google. Where is Youngstown State? If you said Youngstown, Ohio – great job. But if you decided to sing the fight song of the…um…The Penguins…well just kill yourself now.

Rivers is a talented pass rusher. That lanky 6-4 end from a small school kind of reminds me of Jason Taylor. While Jason Taylor snuck up on NFL scouts, before he was a first ballot hall of famer. Rivers won’t sneak up anyone. He will put up impressive combine numbers, get compared to Taylor and before you know it – 2nd rounder! Death to your dreams again

Good job Piggy! Yeah, the combine is usually a blast. I enjoy it thoroughly. Sometimes, it moves players up and gives you a shot at a guy who previously wouldn’t have been available, so that happens too.

What’s interesting in that Mando article is that the Phins are already putting that they won’t be high bidder. Might be the first step in “why don’t you check out what other teams offer and get back to us” but still a bit different. Almost like they have a product to sell.

well, the only thing I can say is if Stills ends up in Philly I’m happy Wentz is getting another wr to throw to other than just Matthews.

That being said, I’m hoping we’ve got the answer on the team or draft the answer and maybe we do. I was one of the people who actually liked the Carroo pick because I think he’s going to be a really good wr for us. Was a bit troubled they said he was having trouble making special teams last year but you can see the potential is there for him. He’s just got to put the work in.

So, it looks like it’s time to change gears and maybe this is something we can start to expect every year and we’re going to have to get used to the idea that we’re going to be a plug ‘n play team and every guy who is going to want a huge contract may not be around because we’re just going to find someone who can come in and get the job done in his place.

This is the type of system Gase wants to have and I think he’s going to get us there. I think we’re still a year away from that happening, at the least, but it’s going to happen. Don’t be surprised if we start trading guys away too like the Pats do in order to just get draft picks rather than re-signing them. I really think this is the model going forward.

Stills ran a 4.38, Carroo ran a 4.5. Carroo thought he would have done better than the 4.5, but he’s certainly not that far behind Stills. It’s also a matter of running good routes and knowing how to get open

he’s definitely bigger that stills but he doesn’t have that speed like stills. I don’t think he can replace stills speed. But we don’t need a 12 million dollar receiver for the 3rd spot. We can find a speedy guy in the draft or even lower FA. Shit the pats turned our reject hogan into that type of receiver. We can do the same.

here’s one thing we need to consider. the $12m/yr avg for Stills doesn’t matter as I stated before and this is the reason why. If the team is looking at $8m/yr tops you can still sign a contract @ 4yrs/$48m because the guaranteed is the only thing that matters.

Most NFL players don’t know what’s in their contracts. The agents want to look good so they want to get their guys the biggest contracts they can so they just want it to look that way.

So, you sign him at 4yrs/$48M, $24m guaranteed and $8m bonus and you’re at your $8m/yr because only the guaranteed matters. you’re going to pro-rate the bonus at $2m/yr and you pro-rate the guaranteed over his first three years at $5.3m/yr and be slightly under $8m per year if that’s what your target was. That puts the remaining 2 yrs at $8m per year base and if you don’t want the player after that you can let him go.

we need to have a plan on how we’re going to replace Stills production. People on Twitter debate me all day about the number of catches he had last season but you’ve got guys catching balls all day and don’t get into the EZ.

Scoring is the way you win games. If you’re not putting points up on offense then you lose games. If Stills is allowed to walk, what’s that do to our chances of scoring td’s?
Whatever the plan, it’s got to include getting the ball into the EZ and not just maximizing catches.

I’m not saying this to start a huge debate but when we picked up Carroo last year I always thought if he was chosen to replace anyone it was to replace Landry because he’s strong and can make a lot of catches but he’s not got the speed to be the deep threat like Stills.

Maybe they were thinking further down the road when they have to negotiate with Landry rather than thinking about Stills. Landry’s contract is going to be HUGE.

Still ain’t gonna get $12 mil unless it is fluff back-ended, my guess is he wants a legit $10 mil+, but you are right about Landry. Long-term can’t see them doing both for big numbers with Parker on board.

Well, Stanger, Parker is going to need to put something together this year. He did okay last season but his first two season haven’t exactly been spectacular for a 1st rd wr. He’s been somewhat of a disappointment so far.

I seriously don’t know why so many ppl are so high on him. Yeah, he shows glimpses of what he could be but that’s all we’ve seen. If he reaches that potential, great, but we really have nothing to go on.

stanger,
I agree. We’ll see if he actually gets that kinda contract. Its all about the guarantee money anyway. He might get 24 mill guaranteed spread over 3 years with avg 10mil/year. I can see him getting that. Not sure I would pay that if I were the phins. He’s a 3rd WR for us right now.

Lou,
I think bringing in thomas is gonna help with the TD catches. And maybe parker and Carroo will pick up more of the slack. But we do need the deep threat that stills brings to the table. So I’m sure if we don’t resign him we’ll bring in another speedy WR into the mix.

I hope so but I think the thinking with Thomas has more to do with the number of 3 and out’s we had on offense last season than it does with td’s.

We need to be more effective moving the ball on offense and someone mentioned putting Thomas in the slot to create mismatches and that should allow us to continue to move the ball and not have as many 3 and out’s. Even if we get into FG range a lot more than we did last season it’s going to help because all points help.

But, yes, we need that deep threat. Grant is a speedy guy who can break ankles on wr screens and maybe quick slants but I don’t think he’s the guy they’re looking at. Maybe Scott? IDK.

Reasons are open why, but they did make that move for Carroo with Stills here. And there are other ways to keep Ds honest on the back-end rather than the pure deep flyer. Even if a guy is not the classic burner, being a threat in the middle or outside cuts opens up more chances deep and keeps them honest. Sorta how the Packers work their system with the Q being “who will go deep” on any given lay, even if not.

Parker and Thomas offer that deep threat with height/speed combos. Carroo maybe not as much, but he can still go deep, outside or middle. Landy not as much deep, but then he draws lots of attention in closer.

Again, Parker has shown glimpses of what he can be and I hope he starts being the “professional” Gase wants him to be but if he doesn’t and has that same “attitude” in camp this year I wouldn’t put it past Gase to part ways with him and send him to another team.

Parker’s shown us glimpses of what he can be but he still needs to put it together and this is his 3rd season. He wasn’t a 3rd or 4th rd pick they’re hoping to see more from. He was a 1st rd pick they’re EXPECTING to see more from.

Maybe my reply up above came out after this. I agree that if they don’t have faith in Parker that they could do both Stills and Landry. Might make for a spectacular Pats-like trade on a big name. Just don’t see big money for all three.

For sure we would. Think we are all happy right now about how much Vernon and Miller signed for followed by good years. Only thing this year versus last is that looks we will be signers rather than givers overall. But they never take away picks either.

Parker showed signs of being a beast last year, he’s not there yet, but if anyone’s disappointed with him I submit they had too high of an expectation to start with. 3rd year WR breakouts are common and I think he’s very primed for one. I kept him in a fantasy keeper league for that exact reason. His chemistry with Tannehill was really developing this year before Tannehill’s knee injury.

No doubt he is a huge talent….and that is why he got drafted where he was. Hard for me to sort out how much of him not showing it as much consistently is the foot problems or simply not living up to the potential. But he has for sure at times shown what he can be.

I think its more likely than not that he will benefit statistically from Stills departure

replacement of Stills has a few prongs
1. Parker’s continued improvement
2. Carroo being able to produce (albeit not in the same manner as Stills)
3. Grant’s involvement in the offense
4. adding a speedy WR int he draft (maybe with a 5th rounder)

I prefer to keep Stills to not depend on these things
but I don’t want to hamstring our cap space when we have other quality options

I almost got tickets to the Combine this year but i wasnt 100% sure what i was going to have to do for them so i acted like i didnt pick up on whatthe dude was putting down lol.

While waiting in line at the Senior Bowl i was being friendly talking football with this dude, and i believe for 100% that its a “no homo” conversation, including his part. So i was talking about how these guys are in a very busy time of their lives and Combine is coming up a what not, and then i said thats the next thing i want to see as part of the build up to the draft and one day i would probably include that.

He goes on to tell me, he actually has tickets to it, he has a friend that can get press passes, so he could actually get down there with the players, and it was possible him might be able to get more than one. I assumed he was talking about his kid or a family member, because he didnt include an “if you have the time to go” in the conversation. I was just like man thats cool, you should go, its going to be a cool experience im sure, it dawned on me he might be asking me if i was interested. Then it dawned on me going the Combine with a guy he didn’t know after only meeting him for the first time in a random line for Senior Bowl, might mean he wasn’t 100% just considering it a buddy trip. So i just pretended like i didnt pick up on any of it lol and just let the opportunity to go to Combine this year slide on bye…..

So i guess Piggy for you it was a white water rafting invite (or was it canoeing?), for me it was invitation to the Combine. Seriously though i think the guy just needed a buddy, kinda a reserved dude and we had a few similar interests so it was all probably completely legit, but i just wasnt taking that chance no matter how much id love to be at that event.

Several odd positions are deep this year too. TE is really deep compared to most years. DE and LB is a really deep pair of positions. OC is incredibly deep this year, its rare to see more than 2 really solid OC’s, this year there are several really elite ones.

That’s one of the reasons we need to be careful when stating what we should target because every draft is different and the talent is not always where you wish it was. This year happens to fit with some of our pressing needs.

I could see Caroo actually being better in our offense than Stills, IF Caroo can reach his potential. He also could wind up being a dud. He looked decent in the limited plays he got, but i dont think i saw enough to be encouraged or discourage about what he is capable of long run.

My think with WR’s, is out side THE guy who is the heart of your offense in that position, i dont pay a lot for receivers. Rookies are coming straight out of college with just as good of the ability to play at that level. Stills is worth a decent pay day for sure, he might be worth a big pay day, but i dont think with his place in our offense its worth spending really big on him. Yes he has chemistry developing with Tanny, but just the year before it wasnt there and it just happened to be this was a contract year. If thats not a coincidence, then we could easily go back to the Stills prior to his chance to get a big contract. He might turn the corner and decided to play up to whatever he is paid, we dont have the track record to be sure of any of it.

I think it would be poor judgment on our part to pay big for him with those concerns looming, and not just seek out a cheaper 4 year option in the next draft or two. Caroo isnt complete poop so we likely could get through next year just fine with him in place of Stills, and if he doesnt work out we draft a WR early 2018.

Boulder, sometimes though its because they arent playing hard, not giving their best effort. Sometimes the receiver is holding the receiver back and not the system. Like i said above, its apparent though in the game film which it is to the coaches, so they know best if he is worth the money. Even with better production this year though, i cant see him being worth big money to us, he isnt that pivotal cog that justifies a big pay day. There will be other systems where he will though and thats just my reasoning for us likely not re-signing him.

Landry is our must keep receiver, Parker to me is the next closest, so Still to me is a luxury that by the time we have spent to retain Landry and Parker, we wont be able to afford. Thats a couple years down the road before both become expensive, so we could get stills, pay him well and just have the guaranteed money fall of in the first couple of years, making him a trade or cut casualty by the time Parker is up. Things might also change by then and Parker is the one we let walk and keep Stills, but being able to walk after two with Stills could make how much we pay him a little more flexible. But then there is also Ajayi, and James, and Alonzo, and Maxwell again, and Lippett and all these others that are going to be hitting in that time span too so its kind a balancing act that i think you have to think, Landry or Still, but not both.

Tim thats the reason i lean towards addressing some of those more rare situations this year. Thats why i wouldn’t be appalled with selection of OJ Howard in the first, even though we just signed Thomas, or why i could easily see us taking Pocic or Elfien, or one of the others in the 2nd, its rare talent in positions where its rare to have this many available. It does also however lend to the thought then if there is such a deep pool maybe we should take from the shallower ones and pick up the deeper ones later, which is generally my strategy when i do mocks, unless i happen to be gifted something. The depth of the defensive players may actually be why our first two selections could be offense, seems wierd to say it because of the obvious needs we have on defense, but i wouldnt be really shocked to see it go down like that.

Agreed. Teams do that all the time. They target the lighter positions early because they think the drop off is steep after a couple of rounds. Then they draft the deep part of the draft later because they know there will still be good talent on the board. Right or wrong, I think that’s why we traded up for Howard last year – we didn’t think there were a lot of corners like him in the draft.

TE has been a position that has grown in talent depth year to year over past little while. There are a lot of really gifted athletes that are converting over to that position to take advantage of the fervor the NFL has for stud TE’s. I actually think at some point very soon, TE is going to become like WR’s and RB’s before them…. disposable. There will be elite ones you must hang on to, but majority are going to be, “now that you are expensive, ill just trade/cut you and pick up a new one from the draft”.

Its kinda insane how many really gifted athletes are out there these days and there is almost some way to make use of their abilities, no matter if its their college position or switching them around to use them differently in the NFL. Clever coaches in NFL are really taking advantage of these kind of players to allow them to get really explosive talent deep in the draft.

Brian Cox Jr would have been on the cusp of 1st round discussion in some of the previous years, definately a mid to upper 2nd rounder, but this year he could wind up going 4th. Deatrich Wise Jr, same deal.

Ozzie always plays it that way…. though he does prioritize positions that have a stronger success rate (ie more predictable the talent that you are getting) than he does skill positions where the skill level might not translate. Way more likely to take a OL or DL in the first than WR, just depends on the OL’s and DL’s. Belichick does the same because he can take a little castoff that no ones is looking at strongly and turn them into a very explosive part of his offense, so he gets the big nasties first, then rolls on to the other spots.

Agreed. Teams do that all the time. They target the lighter positions early because they think the drop off is steep after a couple of rounds. Then they draft the deep part of the draft later because they know there will still be good talent on the board. Right or wrong, I think that’s why we traded up for Howard last year – we didn’t think there were a lot of corners like him in the draft.
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I dont necessarily think of it as the wrong move anymore, though im pretty solid that we didn’t have to to still get him with our 2nd without the trade. Im pretty sure our target was in the first round for CB, and im pretty sure it was Hargreaves, i would have liked to know if they had the choice of Tunsil or Hargreaves would they have still taken Tunsil since their target was still there, or if it was Apple, same thing would they have still taken Tunsil. I think they would so it all shifted because of that unexpected fall and also Apple and Hargreaves both were off the board, so we kind of got lucky in more ways than one, because we could have been out of all three his Tunsil not have been playing a stoner version of Fallout LARP.

I also had through at draft time there were a couple guys after he was selected that would have been just as good, but really they werent. When we finally got around to seeing him he jumped off the page with his talent. Its kinda interesting though that we also wouldnt have taken him had Derrick Henry been there, or if the trade to move up and take Myles Jack had happened. So despite their feeling on trading up for Howard, even they could have passed on drafting a CB until after they were worried he would be gone, so makes you roll back to, why then didnt you just wait a few more picks and land him without the trade….

Ozzies board though isnt going to be your standard board, id bet it was linear, but id bet its his own evaluations of the players and their abilities to reach potential, so its not like he has anyones elses ranking system, he has his own and he sticks to the evaluations he and his team put their hard work into.

Thats kinda why i sorta argued with you Mikey about OJ Howard, not so much that i disagreed with you, but you used an arbitrary 6.something ranking, which is a ranking SOMEONE has, but not everyone. So its just as possible that one of the RB’s that someone else has as a 5.2, is actually a 6.9 from our scouting staff. I never felt like i had made that clear because you had seemed really agressive about defending the Howard pick, and to me that wasnt at all what i was discussing.

I completely agree that if Howard is the top guy on our board….we should take him over a LB or DE or whatever. You have to think of your teams strength as a culmination of those numbers so getting the highest value player many times adjust your team strength the most. I leave a little wiggle room in there for score weighting, but i think by time they get the order of their board done, its actually part of their final evaluation value.

A 5th rd WR might do the trick. He doesn’t have to play a ton of snaps or catch a lot of balls, but you get him out there enough to be at least a threat. If you run a fast guy on deep routes, they have to cover him, can’t just let him go free. So then you have guys running routes underneath in cleared out space. We have plenty of guys to do that. Parker also has vertical speed, we’ve seen it.

Wyoming, Wise is a brute strength kinda DE, but still has remarkable quickness. I think he might be one of the more undervalued guys at that position, i also really like Tyus Bowser as a possible DE option for us. I think he might be more ideal as a 3-4 OLB, but put him behind Wake as a more speed rush specialist and let him put on some weight/muscle through a strength training program (again this is a true statement for 90% of the guys coming into the NFL)

This is my strategy for Stills. Id make a play for him at 6mil per and might conceed up to 7mil per to make the deal happen, otherwise i walk away from the table, and i may take a look at other FA WR’s, but ultimately i think i would target a WR in a middle to late round, unless i just got a really good value player fall to me.

I really think i would like one of the Ole Miss receivers, they have a really good combination of hands, length and speed that would compliment the players we have, or Travin Dural/Malichi Dupree from LSU, again, kind of an eclectic skill set, rare combinations of speed and size with ability to run all the route trees. I also like Zay Jones and Cooper Kupp as other options for us.

Carroo will be given every opportunity to earn more snaps this year. It’s up to him. The same with Parker taking the next step. Landry we know what we have. We know what Thomas can do – durability is his biggest issue. Based on how we’ll likely structure his contract and only giving up a 7th rd pick for him, he’s really a 2 year boom or bust plan.

I also like how we involved the RBs in the passing game, 66 total receps last year. We need to see more of Drake in that aspect. He’s a HR hitter.

Maybe they’re looking at it from the point of view that you can cover one Jarvis but you can’t stop two of them.

We need to score and we need to score a lot more than we’ve been but we’ve been piss poor at consistently moving the ball on offense with all the 3 and out’s we have. So, we could be looking at trying to move the ball more consistently on offense and putting together consistent drives like the Pats do and keeping our D off the field.

Take the ball on long drives. Control the ball with the offense and keep the opposing D on their heels trying to figure out how to stop us and that’s how we are going to dominate in games. Now THAT makes sense to me. I should have thought of that before.

Absolutely and now it’s going to evolve around Ajayi. Long demeaning drives for defenses to deal with. Pounded with chunk yardage over and over. We don’t have to score on a ton of 40+ yard strikes though a few would be nice. 🙂

Thomas as a TE opens up the field as well and creates more mismatches. I think that’s Gase’s plan, he wants his speciality which is offense to be the dominant part of the team regardless of where the defense gets to. He feels if we can control the tempo of the game, sustain drives and score a lot of points, the defense can play fast, attack and be opportunistic. It’s a model that’s been used before and has faired well. The more weapons you have, the harder you are to defend. We’re getting there when you look at our skill positions.

yep, that makes sense. when you look at it from that point of view things start to become more clear and just like others do with tearing you apart in the middle of the field and short routes with yac and then all of a sudden break a guy deep they aren’t necessarily relying on a speed burner to get that done.

Carroll Phillips is showing up on a lot of mocks and prospect ranking sites as that mid round guy but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him go no later than late 2nd or mid 3rd. He’s been said to have the first rd talent but some scouts are turned off about some type of off field activities which I can’t find anything on.

But, like I said. A lot of scouts said he’d be a first rd prospect if not for that.

What i heard about him from some of my buddies who are press peeps that do senior bowl coverage for the Senior Bowl organization, Phillips is pretty raw, same with Smoot, but both have a lot of things that teams can work with. I think its really likely both go anywhere from 2nd-4th, and we could be one of the teams that would take them.

Tim,
this is something I talked about hoping we’d see us do for years and that was having so many guys at those positions who could get it done the defense wasn’t able to just key on one guy or double someone up in order to take a guy out of play and then kill your offense.

If Carroo is the other Jarvis with a bit more speed and size then we may have something here. Add in Thomas as the mismatch in the slot and some of the other weapons we’ve got and this O can put up some points.

A defense can stop one guy but it can’t stop everyone. If this is the direction they’re moving in I’m definitely all for it.

Lou, say we like to start games off in 2-TE sets with Thomas as an easy flip slot or wide receiver, establish Ajayi, get Landry going who also sets the tone, then you also have Parker’s threat. That’s a lot to deal with already. Then Drake, Carroo, Grant and Williams get involved as well as a couple of others and all of a sudden opposing defenses are finding it hard to match up with the depth and keep their stamina. That’s when the big plays happen, when they’re tired and feeling beaten.

We might be building a wear you down and let the big plays happen type of offense. We have a lot of guys capable of making great individual plays. That hasn’t been the case in the past for this team.

Drake is sneaky fast, i would bet his is close to on par with Kenny Still in top end speed, just running from the backfield doesnt really put you on many deep routes. I do remember them using him that way at Alabama from time to time, however. I remember him absolutley burning one of our safeties one year when they played UF.

Rams are ging to put the tag on Trumain Johnson again….WTF. They tagged him last year at 14mil under the rules of first time tagged. Under the rules of being tagged a second time, it would be 17.1 mil fully guaranteed this year. Retarded.

Sounds like the Cowboys might actually just cut Tony Romo, saying they feel like they should do right by him and allow him to negotiate freely with nay team instead of locking him into one team that they may get a better trade offer for. Seems honorable, but i wonder if they really mean it. Jerry has been known to talk out of both sides of his mouth.

I’d prefer a guy like Melvin Ingram. I think he brings a lot of versatility to any defense. He can rush off the edge, play some LB/DE, drop in coverage and play the run. He’s not going to be cheap though.

Man if the Giants arent able to get a long term, more cap friendly deal done before free agency, they arent going to be making much in the way of moves there. FT for JPP is 17mil of their 31 available (i was actually surprised they had that much after the wild ass spending spree they went on last year).

I’d prefer a guy like Melvin Ingram. I think he brings a lot of versatility to any defense. He can rush off the edge, play some LB/DE, drop in coverage and play the run. He’s not going to be cheap though.
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I dont disagree and no pass rushers really come cheap. Its one of the positions i dont really want to get involved with in FA, in an almost every year kind of scenario. There are times you just gotta do it, but usually a good portion of your total money goes to that spot in you fill it in FA, or have to re-sign a player out of a rookie contract.

We could have potentially $50M in cap space to re-sign some of our own, add 2-3 top tier UFAs on top of that and draft 1st and 2nd rd. We don’t need 10-12 players, we need 5-7 upgrade/impact players on top of some young players taking the next step. It really can change that fast.

We got the money to put some players into all the holes, but I’d actually be cool with hoping doing as best we can with some positions and buying into the future with long-term re-dos on the relative cheap for Jones and Landry. We are the only ones who can do that for them until next March, and that means discount.

I would expect most likely Denver is going to be the leading contender for him, and they have the cap space to make that happen.

Houston makes sense because its within the state, one of the income taxless states too, i just dont know if they could carry tow high priced QB contracts simultaneously, and offloading Osweiler is going to be next to impossible if a team has to eat that contract. Texans also are one of those NFL black cloud teams. Even on their best years they find ways to fuck themselves out of things.

I really think KC could be an option. I have heard they want to find a replacement for Smith, but i feel like they may want to draft instead of bring in an older vet.

NYJ have the need, and they have made some cap opening moves….

Chicago could be a real option, since he did spend a decent part of his life in Illinois/Wisconsin areas.

Minnesota maybe…..

San Diego might even be a spot. I know that Rivers hates the move to LA, and Romo was born there and lived in Cali when he was younger.

Then you have the storied franchise teams who havent had success in a little while like the 9’ers, and the aforementioned bears.

Im sue he will get a lot of interest, a bunch that will be really appealing and others that really wont be able to sell going there, either way i think him being able to choose would be really kind of the Cowboys because you know they might even be able to pull a first rounder in trade, so its significant what they might would give up.

After all he has made, gotta think wherever Romo goes will be a team in the hunt. Takes out a bunch of your later options, but leaves your first two as real possibilities. Denver and Houston have to be the top two. Maybe MN or KC, but they would have to trade away who they have signed on at QB.

Im interest to see what they finally decide to do with Dion Jordan. Interest to know if they feel like maybe they got a pass rusher in the wings already or a SOLB. I will never get my hopes up again that he will pan out to anything but a big ass mistake, but we will see what the coaches think, as i think he and Misi could be FA cuts, or definitely after draft cuts.

Think particularly risky cause pretty sure the transition tag number would be about what he is looking for anyhow, but doesn’t that only come into play a year after a franchise tag is used anyhow? And thought franchise was our only option with him.

I keep hearing talk about teams salary caps… Such as I can’t believe NE or NYG have that much cap space. It’s all relative to the amount of FAs they have. Lets say you have 13 FAs from your 53 man 2016 roster, that’s going to create a lot of cap space, but you have to replace those guys somehow, so you really don’t have a lot of cap space.

Is there a reason we have to sign Stills? I don’t really understand. He was about the 60th best WR in the league last year. Offer him what you feel is fair. If he says no…say goodbye. He’s not gonna be hard to replace. Did he do something I missed last year that made him a guy we have to overpay to keep?

Thats kinda where i am but i think i see more in him than you do. I dont think he is a feature of our offense, though i do think he has talent and would be a viable part of the offense. Still i cant see paying him as a feature when he obviously isnt. Gase may have different ideas about it though so it really just depends on what he sees and what plans he might have for making him more a feature part. Im not sure, but i really dont see the need to over spend on him either.

Antonio Brown just signed a five year, $68 million dollar contract. Doesn’t bode well for keeping Stills.
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Who it really might not bode well for is Le’veon Bell, they got hm with FT this year, but next year after Brown got that, and Ben with what he makes, and i think they got a couple more important peeps coming up too. Gonna start getting hard to keep them together.

No doubt he couldn’t spot mental makeup issue, good evaluating of talent imo, just really bad evaluating of people. They also didnt get a lot of help being developed as players either. We had a mess going on here, really bad one, flaws all over the place on the staff and FO.

I think with Caroo in the wings,and if the ant man can get his fumblitis under control, we have a diverse and skilled WR set without Stills, we could draft another guy and just start that always got the next man ready when the previous one falls off. Its all about having that leverage when it comes to contract talks. They have 0 when it comes to Landry because there just arent other WR’s that come with the heart, skills, hands, and route running at the level Landry has it. He is truly special and they are going to pay him a special amount lol. We need to be somewhat fluid at the other receiver spots, they should draft a guy in next couple years capable of replacing Parker, and then the next year one for Caroo, etc etc. Time marches on and unless you establish yourself as irreplaceable, especially at WR and RB, and very likely soon to be TE too, you are going to have hard time trying to get big second contracts

That’s why it needs to be about the system and not the players, just keep replacing with next man up.

Stills was only average when he wasn’t catching TDs, which were setup plays. I don’t think it’s that hard to replace that, but speed is needed, so maybe Carroo won’t give you what Stills does, but maybe we can get Grant to do it, even though he wouldn’t be used as much.

D,
I think you end up overpaying for FAs…even your own guys…sometimes. But, you also gotta be smart about which guy you do it for. I don’t think 3rd WR on the team is the right position to open up the pocketbook for. Those are the positions you gotta rely on rotating through with draft picks.

He is tiny…. i mean when i saw him out there at senior bowl i couldnt believe how small the dude was. He puts everything into every play, but i think he is gonna get slung around in the NFL. I would be he winds up not being able to disengage from any blocks down the field. I think his instincts and his play recognition are good, especially for run plays, and he will be able to somewhat get by on that but unless he just goes in and beefs up something huge, where he can sling people around, i think his NFL career is going to be a short one, and its sad because i really like the guy.

One of the things i disagree with the scouts on is his coverage ability. Its true if he doesnt recognize pas on a play he can get really burned, because he has very little speed to catch up to RB’s, TE’s or slot receivers. That said, his play recognition saves him a lot and there are a lot of plays he easily kept up with the same player that smoked him on the previous play, simply because he read the play, and was already when he needed to be when he needed to be. So im going to say i dont think the coverage will be a severe downside to his game, not as much as i think the ability to disengage and make the play will be.

son of a son of a shula says:
“They sure do that’s why Ireland thought he got a steal with Egnew in the 3rd”

Talk about a name I never would have thought about again. Egnew, Keller, Cameron…..been a lot of years looking that same threat TE only to get crash and burn (even if Keller showed what one could add, if only for like one or two games).

I think the seam threat TEs need to be in the right system to match their ability. Thomas was a square peg going into a round hole in Jax. We all know what he can do in ours. Some have talked about it being Peyton, but I don’t agree, because you watch several of his TDs and you can see they’re well designed plays with lots of space for him to work.

No idea what his future will be in the NFL, but still absolutely love the player. He was officially 6-0 236 at the senior bowl so I don’t think the size thing is a huge deal, but we will see.
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Like i said if heplays to his strengths, and adds another 20lbs in muscle he has the right attitude, and the right intangibles to make it, maybe even be great but he will have really compensate with some of those things. More concerning of his height was how slight his frame was, no wide shoulders, thick hips and thighs, just very slight of frame. It was wierd, because i very much was eager to watch him, and i just wasnt overly impressed with his ability to take on blockers. I really hate counting out people like him, so i wont, but his path in the NFL is going to have to come with a helluva lot of perseverance and effort.

He couldn’t keep them away from his body and wasnt strong enough i his upper body to shed them. His form was very good, his instincts, very good. I wouldnt be pissy if we selected him, infact if you go back and look at some of my posts frm weeks/months past, i have said if we re-signed Jenkins to use him in packages (mostly coverage ones, but in general mix him and Boulware in at MLB), between the two of them that would be a pretty great MLB. I could see them getting a pretty even split if not Boulware out there on more plays. I really like the player, infact part of me was kinda happy they won the NC just because he was leaving it all out there on the field in that game, and it would have been horrible had he had to walk away a loser.

BACK FROM another trip to south Florida. Got to see Florida Atlantic defeat Indiana 6-2 in absolutely PERFECT baseball weather on Saturday. Took my “birthday girl” sister and her husband out to dinner at Pompano Pizza. Did the convention on Sunday and got home back to
the Tampa suburbs Sunday evening. Up and at ’em early today for another busy day at work for Great Grandpa. Bring it on!!!
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MY THANKS to HERDFAN for running game 4 of “Absolute Perfection!” Beating the Jets at home was never an easy task, especially when Joe Namath was on one of his hot streaks. And, believe me, Joe was ON FIRE during the first three games of the 1972 season! The “No Name Defense” did an outstanding job holding New York to just 17 points on their home turf. Note that Namath, who had just thrown for 496 yards and SIX touchdowns against a very good Colts team, was held to ZERO touchdown passes in this game!! It was at this precise game that the dream of a PERFECT SEASON first entered my mind. But those dreams would, for a time being, be cast down the drain because of what would happen in the 5th game of this amazing season.–My thanks also to those of you who went out of your way to express your enjoyment for this modest recounting of this chapter of the greatest season in NFL history!
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EAT IT! –SLEEP IT!!–BREATH IT!! The PERFECT SEASON is OURS’ to enjoy!!

OD — you are the hardest working great grandfather I ever met. Jim gave me a call last week…..was great to talk to him. Sad to hear the reason was he is rock solid on not renewing, but turned to “come on man — you still have to go to some games….in your DNA.”

I think he is going to want a nasty dude in the middle. I think Vontaze Burfict kind of guy, minus the thuggishness. Someone thats aggressive, powerful and comes down hill when he makes his tackle. If Boulware were 250ish and a little more beefed up id say he is exactly whom i think he is going to be looking for. Alex Anzalone, as much as Lou hates him really kinda fits the mold too, again, need to put on a little more weight (more like 10 lbs than 20)but he does have the size, athleticism, and strength/build that Boulware doesnt right now.

Anzalone, outside of injuries, is everything you want in a LB. I think if they want a downhill guy McMillin is that type of MLB also. If Anthony Walker gets his body and weight right he could be another guy.

And right back at them. You gotta get him to games. The others as well. Gotta think such passion doesn’t die all at once. Have a feeling you can most there for even if just your own version of the Fest.

Yep, I’ve done a complete 180 on re-signing Stills. I can see Gase wanting to go with a controlled passing offense with a 2nd Landry-type player and maybe even add one more of those quicker guys who can come off the line and make it difficult to stay with him.

So, I’m good with letting Stills walk at this point. We need to move the ball more often. Being the worst team in 3 and out’s, time of possession per offensive possession and number of plays per offensive possession can’t sit well with Gase and I think this is the direction he wants to go in and I’ve wanted to see this for years now. Too many guys to cover.

ACTUALLY, BRIAN, I did think of most of the folks on this board as I was driving up and down the east coast on Saturday and Sunday. I was thinking how cool it would be if we got together down there for one or two spring training games during the dead of winter up north! A brand spanking new, state of the art, stadium is opening in my old stomping ground of West Palm Beach. The Nationals an Astros will split this place, which is about 6-8 miles due north of Palm Beach International Airport on Haverhill Road. Wde could spend the morning at Palm Beach and check out the rich chicks in their bikinis before heading out for a one O’clock game either in West Palm or another nearby venue.
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During my 16-year tenure in Columbus, Ohio, I must have made 8-10 weather trips down to Florida to take in sporting events and visit the beaches. I swore SOME DAY I’d return FULL TIME! And, now, I HAVE! No more living in states with high taxes and low temperatures for me!

Right now the Browns have over $100 mil in cap space and check out their slate in the draft below (that’s a double draft). We’ll see how they use it, but their phones will be ringing off the hook from every agent there is till April.

Knew they were sitting good but had no idea how well. If I was young HC I would walk in there with a three year plan and mold them in my vision. And would know that my job was secure. Heck — five wins in my first year would celebrated.

One of the big knocks on McMillan in ’15 was the number of “clean up” tackles he had and scouts wanted to see more solo tackles from him in ’16 and it didn’t happen. He’s not a sideline to sideline MLB as he lacks the speed to get to the outside quickly and run down a play before a runner can turn the corner.

There’s no doubt if McMillan hits someone head on it’s one hell of a hit. Problem with that is they are too few of those types of hits.

Chiefs signed RG Laurent Duvernay-Tardif to a five-year, $41.25 million extension through 2022.
The deal includes $20 million guaranteed. In average annual value ($8.25 million), Duvernay-Tardif’s extension makes him the NFL’s fourth-highest-paid guard behind Kelechi Osemele, David DeCastro, and Kyle Long. A 2014 sixth-round pick out of McGill College in Canada, Duvernay-Tardif has settled in as a solid-if-spectacular starting right guard in Kansas City.

professorloumiamidolphinsblog says:
February 27, 2017 at 9:39 pm
It’ll be interesting to see how they approach FA. If they’re not interested in getting into bidding wars over our own players why would they do so with players from other teams?
REply

Lou, the Phins have a lot of Cap space to play with. I’m sure they have a few plans formulated for FA….tonight’s list of franchise tags has likely changed some of those plans no doubt!

I understand that but why would you get to a point with your own player where you walk away from him and not do the same with someone else? In other words, I don’t expect us to make a big splash in FA. I think we’re looking to increase the overall level of talent on the team without the emphasis on the big name.

I don’t think we’re going to be the big game hunters we once were. I think we’re going to get smarter about our approach and that’s going to pay off big time for us because I also think Gase and his staff understand that one guy isn’t going to win you a lot of games by himself.

I see your point too, but remember teams have to spend 89% of their Cap, but it is over a 4 year period. I still think we’ll see a surprise or two before all is said & done. We also need to lock up Landry longterm, etc.

I just think we’ve got a superior coaching staff and we don’t need to go crazy and go out and spend a ton of money on one guy because we’re still going to need to surround him with other talent. Suh’s a perfect example. 30th in run D.

Now there’s a group of people who want to spend $13m/yr on Brandon Williams and put him next to Suh when we’re still going to need to add talent around him. I’m all for adding talent and the more talent you’ve got on a team the better off you’re going to be. But, we’ve got to be smart about how we go about it.

I think we should be aggressive in free agency but we should be as aggressive going after those guys we really want like we were in the draft going after Howard and Caroo and I don’t think it’s going to cost us a ton of money to get the guys we want.

Some names that were mentioned like Malcolm Smith will help us increase the overall level of talent on the team and bring in more than just one big name free agent and still need to add talent around him. Sio Moore, John Simon, Schwenke, and others are similar players. Not all will be starters but we also need better depth as well.

So, yeah, we need to spend the money for cap purposes but we need to be smart about it. But, I think the team understands that now where they didn’t in the past.

Colts NT David Parry was arrested Saturday in Scottsdale, Arizona on suspicion of driving under the influence, auto theft, robbery, criminal damage, and resisting arrest.
After hitching a ride on a “transportation cart” from a downtown bar, Parry allegedly hit the driver in the head, stole the cart, and crashed it into a gate. A 2015 fifth-rounder, Parry has started 32 straight games to open his career,.

I have to give a big kudos to Steve Ross. He’s come a long way from the orange carpets and the nonsense of his early years and with his newest initiative, The Business Combine, he’s showing a level of caring about his players unlike any owner has ever shown in the NFL.

The Business Combine is an effort to help players with their future plans after their football careers are over and I have to applaud the man for that. It’s an excellent idea and I can see it evolving over the years and become even better. It will probably become a model for the entire league.

again, these names you’re throwing out there in Hodges and Riley could be the types of guys we’re looking at rather than hanging our future on one big name free agent.

I think when you sign one big name guy, especially on defense, it creates an unreasonable expectation the team will improve too much when, in fact, it doesn’t happen that way unless there’s other talent already around that player or you add talent.

In regards to Raekwon…I’ll disagree. He’s not the speed guy who’s going to carry TEs & RBs downfield for an extended time in coverage like a Cunningham, but he sure as fuck will crack your skull in the run game and screen game. My comp. for him is when David Harris came out from Michigan.

He can’t get to plays that are run wide. He’s shown that time and again if a play is run wide right or left he’ll never get there and the rb will be around the corner and gone by the time he arrives.

Yeah, he’ll hit you hard if he hits you head on. I said as much before. But, like I also mentioned, the biggest knock on him is his “clean up” tackles and the fact that he’s not in on enough plays himself and that’s not improved from ’15 to ’16. He takes too long to recognize what’s happening and reacts too slowly to the play.

Hey, I’m not the one saying it. The scouts have said his “clean up” tackles in ’15 were an issue and wanted to see him do more on his own but he didn’t change it in ’16.

I don’t know how you can’t have a problem with his sideline to sideline play. If you’ve watched him he’s always late to the play. He can’t get there. I’m not saying it just to disagree with you or be an idiot; it’s there to see. Don’t just watch the cut ups on YouTube. There’s full games of Ohio State from last season you can watch and see what he does.

Lou,
It’s great what Ross is doing. It might make a difference w/ some FAs, but I don’t think it’s a game changer in the aspect. It might have more influence with players already within the organization.

Ross has really helped change the image in Miami after the bullygate incident.

One of the things we saw with this team in years past was the unwillingness of free agents to want to go to MIA and play for the team because it was a cluster. Things changed a bit as we saw with Suh but now with Gase it will probably change even more; where players, especially those on offense, will want to play for him.

However, players really appreciate the type of thing Ross is doing because it shows he cares about life after football for the players and he’s not just treating them as a commodity. If you think it doesn’t matter to players I think you’re mistaken. There’s going to be a number of players who will want to play for the team now instead of going elsewhere just because of something like this.

As I said it will be more important to players who are already in the organization. There might be a few FA vets on their last legs the program might appeal to them & may sway them, but in most cases it’s all about the💵💸💰💴💶💷

In regards to Zack Brown….Omar can eat a full plate of shit before I believe what he says. Now outside of that rant there does have to be something beneath the surface w/ Brown. High level talent, but was released by the team that drafted after getting benched and whining on social media about it. Also I question him fitting into this locker room after he took a shot at Kiko, a well respected player, on twitter.

My post was here, and then disappeared, and it didn’t go to spam either. Bizarre.

Anyway, what I said was I think it’s too early to call our coaching staff superior. We were schooled by Belichick (twice) and by Harbaugh. If we want to call them superior, they have to be equal to or better than those 2 guys IMO

I called them a superior coaching staff because they are able to get more from players than other coaches can get from them. When you consider the number of injuries we had during the season and the starters that were missing and to go 10-6 and make the playoffs; that’s superior coaching.

Any number of teams with the same situation and without the coaching that is present in MIA right now would have had a losing record rather than putting something together like we did. It’s only going to get better.

Can we wait a few years before we make that declaration? That’s all I’m saying. I think Gase did a nice job last season, I’d like to see him do that consistently year after year, and then, we’ll know we have a superior coaching staff.

What I’m saying is we just need to increase the overall level of talent on our team to compete. We don’t need to go out in free agency and pay a huge sum of money to one guy because, even if we do, unless we surround him with more talent he’s not going to make a difference.

If you look at our LB situation for instance, we need good players at those positions who can get it done. We don’t need to go after a big name this year in free agency. Just increase the overall level of talent at the position. That’s when you know you have a superior coaching staff. When a coaching staff says “we need this GUY” they’re saying they aren’t good enough to get it done.

When a coaching staff can bring in any number of guys without the huge name and still win that’s when you know you’ve got something. That’s the coaches we’ve got in MIA. Believe it or not.

In regards to the coaching staff, I think they showed an uncanny ability to develop, motivate, & adapt in tough situations which is a hallmark of good coaching. When you do it year after year after year etc that’s when it becomes great coaching.

Were there ever leaks by Dolphins front office personnel? There’s always reporters making their own stories, like we’re not matching the $12M per Kenny Stills is supposedly getting, but I don’t ever remember anything more than that in previous years.

professorloumiamidolphinsblog says:
February 28, 2017 at 9:00 am (Edit)
He can’t get to plays that are run wide. He’s shown that time and again if a play is run wide right or left he’ll never get there and the rb will be around the corner and gone by the time he arrives.

*****************

That’s my issue with him too
When a play goes to the edges – he is nowhere to be found

I can’t imagine that he will help us beat the Patriots

I can’t stand writing off a prospect
but McMillan jumps out to be as being particularly slow on the field

Honestly the construction of the Defense will be very interesting. If you play a power based run offense you better have DTs not named Suh that can occupy blockers and allow the speed guys to play to their strengths.

Perfect example of what I was talking about. Not that NFL.com’s ratings equate to our Front Office’s ratings, but NFL.com has Howard at 6.5, and Zach Cunningham is rated at 5.9. So my question is, if you have a need at both TE and LB (now, after signing Julius Thomas the equation has changed), but back when I put that out there, this is exactly what I meant. Do you take Cunningham if you have him rated at 5.9, or do you take Howard who you have at 6.5?

Cunningham is rated at 5.9 due to questions on his tackling. If a team feels that’s an issue they can resolve at the next level and he checks all the other boxes they won’t have an issue with taking him in the 1st rd.

However, compare a guy like Cunningham to a guy like McMillan. You can look at it and say McMillan doesn’t miss tackles but he’s not nearly in on as many plays as Cunningham is. Cunningham is in on a lot of plays other LB’s weren’t during the season and don’t have the ability to be in on. He covers a lot of ground fast.

Talk about a bad day. A minute before handing out the wrong envelope for best picture at the Oscars, the accountant had tweeted out a picture of best actress winner Emma Stone on his personal account. Guess we now know what the distraction was.

Maybe I was overboard on free, but the double whammy on the PR hit will be if the Oscars then drop the firm afterwards. If I ran the place would want the next announcement to be that the Oscars have signed a long-term renewal deal. And yeah would be willing to offer that on the cheap to make sure that happened.

While the NFL combine is going on 16 Phins will be going to a “business combine” that Ross set up for the players to learn about the business world and help with investment planning. Good for him, but he also knows that ponying up to do it also helps the franchise.

“With what the team is doing, it kind of brings them together. And, you know, I think they experience these type of things together, they become closer together and they realize what the organization does and they’re more committed to the Miami Dolphins. And certainly, I think, when other players outside when they’re looking to see what teams they’d like to play for, it doesn’t hurt. Because the word spreads.”

Piggy,
We definitely need a DT who can take up blockers and hold the POA. Phillips, if he can become consistent, can be a game altering force. That final game vs NE he single handily took over that game in the second half which allowed us to nearly comeback.

One thing forgot to mention is that Ross’ business combine is being held in NYC, where Ross is a king of real estate (yeah even bigger than Trump) and includes of various real estate properties. Have to assume that includes his ongoing development on the West Side that is about the largest private one ever in New York City history.

So after it is all over, the players should respect that Ross is about a whole lot more than just the team. They might have known that before, but there is something about seeing it.

Kansas City finalized a five-year contract extension with right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, his agent announced Tuesday. A source with knowledge of the situation told NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport the new deal is worth $41.25 million.

And Reshad is already on the books for $8 mil versus cap this year and not like he hasn’t griped about how much he was paid before. Key thing we have is that he is coming off injury and can dangle that set up contract before he hits FA next year. If we did though, he would for sure be on that same list. Wouldn’t hurt either way to take a safety higher in the draft though, even if he ends up playing with Jones for years.

It is if they own it. There are apparently stipulations, like they much wear an Adidas shoe when setting the record. They have to endorse the Adidas products, and the Island would be of Adidas’ choosing and they have the option of giving them 1million dollars instead of the island, which would also be Adidas’s choice. Taxes on the 1mil and/or island would also be responsibility of the player, not Adidas.

More i look at Chad Kelly and read about how he is kinda dropping, more im curious if we wont take a chance on him if he winds up dropping far enough in the draft. He has a Farve likeness about him, Cutler might be a better comparison if you want to factor his mental issues in with the talent. He obviously is a really talented dude, and an intriguing prospect minus the off field/character concerns.

Gotta love Joe Thomas, both as a player and a fun guy. Wouldn’t surprise me is he gets traded though. He’s 32, the Browns are rebuilding and he still has serious value……guessing he wouldn’t mind going to a contender while in his window either.

D: Edge, Center, LB first 3 picks. I see you’re “sticking with the plan!” And Pocic has played at a high level at both G and C.
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Hey, all you draftniks. If we, in fact, lose Stills, does that push WR into the top 3 areas of need?–NOT in my book!

Im assuming we will lose him, thats why i went for Switzer in the middle round of the draft, i dont think it pushes it up to a top three need persay, unless the person available to me was just a really good value pick, like one of the better receivers dropped to us. Even then i think id only go round 2-3, and it would have to be someone REALLY special for it to be a round 2 pick.

I think unless we really like one of the LBs and they’re there for us, we’re going DL pass rusher in the 1st. Then LB/G or G/LB in the next two rounds.

D, maybe with one of the 5ths we take a shot at Chad Kelly, a speedy WR replacement for Stills and possibly another LB. 6th round maybe a DT. That’s if we draft with the picks we have. Something tells me it’s not going to end up that way. LOL

As you have pointed out, all depends on who we have on the roster going into the draft. And that only partly includes who we sign from other teams. We keep all our possible re-signs on the roster and our only clear starting need is at one guard spot….and that is only if the Albert deal actually gets done.

I completely agree btwn how it ends up after all is said and done. But just for instance, still see it possible that our top four LBs next year are Kiko, Jenkins, Misi and some compete FA we sign for say $3 mil and won’t be looking LB at all unless talent falls till the 5th rounders come up.

ALSO, D,–When you listed the Joe Thomas article, I was expecting something on the Greatest GM in Dolphins’ history, NOT someone who plays for the lowly Browns!!-LOL!
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I was just thinking his comments were pretty entertaining and gives you glimpses into some of the crazy crap they ask those guys in the interviews lol. I really liked the, i guess JaMarcus nailed it line lol.

Im not as worried about him, i actually think he is the opposite of Leaf because i think he comes from money, he has family in the business, he is more prepared for the hooplah of the NFL life and he likely is a better pro than college kid. If he isnt you just get that distraction gone andif you are getting him in the 5th or 6th…you arent really out very much anyways.

He wont be Leaf just because no team is going to be using a 2nd overall selection on him and that changes the game in itself. If any team takes him in a later round the risk-reward i think is justified. Anything above a 3rd round selection for him, the team should have few needs to afford to potentially waste that high of a pick on him. Id be iffy on a 4th, but i could see a few teams going for him then as well.

Money didn’t make him any more ready just made him more entitled. He’s not shown an ounce of growth as a person since the day he got himself booted from Clemson. You’re correct on the cost to bring him in isn’t the same as Leaf, but he has the same explosive impulsive traits that Leaf had with a high sense of self entitlement…JMHO.

Tim i think we could take a DT for sure, but i think we would be looking more for a guy who is just a stud at the position, a indication we might not be very high on Phillips work ethic and consistency, or we go for value and potential that can be developed. I kinda think we might would shoot for late, maybe 6-7th round (and there are a couple guys i really like as possibles there), and i wouldnt be surprised for a mid level guy from FA, again value over studdage, because i personally think we have a stud in Phillips already. He causes havok when he is on. I mean i have seen him just work a OG, walk them right back into the QB. I have sen plays he absolutely manhandles people. He also is surprisingly quick and might actually be a scary pass rusher from that position if he can just work out some of his workout issues and get in better shape.

AP needs to realize that if he wants to play for a few more years, he really needs to move to a committee RB situation just for longevity. He really is at a crossroads right now, and he will either accept that its time for him to understand he has a new role, or he needs to walk away without going there. Tomlinson figured out he couldnt do it after one year of trying it.

Money didn’t make him any more ready just made him more entitled. He’s not shown an ounce of growth as a person since the day he got himself booted from Clemson. You’re correct on the cost to bring him in isn’t the same as Leaf, but he has the same explosive impulsive traits that Leaf had with a high sense of self entitlement…JMHO.
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Yeah i guess what im saying is i see what your concerned with, and if we were talking aboutdrafting him as the face of our franchise, using a extremely valuable pick on him, absolutley the wrong decision and i would agree with being too worried about him to want to put our team through it.

Im seeing him as a 5th or 6th round selection though, and with that he carries less concern over the character issues. So i completely agree with oyu that he has some traits that make him scary, we just could afford to see if he might lose them or be coached out of them, and taught to be a professional, as a later round selection. If we did draft him and he became Ryan Leaf, cut him and let someone else deal with him if they want to. He does have the potential however to go the other direction, and in the case that he straightened things out, he could be a helluva steal.

Dbolt, What i was saying about the money is some players get to the NFL get that money and go buck wild crazy. I think that was part of what was with Leaf because i think he was one of those that didnt really come from money and when he got a taste for it just lost his focus on what got him there and what would keep him there. I dont think Chad Kelly will have the same issues as he comes from money and it wouldnt be as big of a culture shock and he has a HOF Uncle who could help him understand how to be a pro. As much as i really dont care for Jim Kelly, he was a very solid and responsible pro so im kinda thinking some of that might rub off on Chad.

D,
Phillips has all the physical tools needed to be a serious beast at under tackle….always has. It’s always been above the shoulders that holds him back. Focus. I think this is a big year for him. He’s shown he can dominate single blocks. He needs to do it game in and game out now. Then, can he still win when he draws more attention like Suh can…because he will if he keeps beating singles like he did late in the year. If he’s truly an upper echelon guy, he’ll get it done after the extra guy comes his way.

I agree. Its kinda frustrating because i see the plays he takes off, and it pisses me off because as long as he isnt gasses he is just brutal, but he gets gassed easy and then he coasts some or maybe its just he cant play through exhaustion.

I can easily remember when i was playing getting so gassed i hardly could catch my breath, and on the next snap i just dug deep and gave it everything, and then the next play and the next play. Our team was small so i played on both sides of the ball and on the ST units, so i didnt get a break. I can completely empathize with exhausted, but the great players will themselves through it, and we need him to become on of those guys, a real team player that consistently gives full effort every play.

I also like that Nathan Peterman kid from Pitt as a possible project QB. He might last until it wouldnt be a bad chance at taking a shot at him, but i think he is a less risk, with less star potential kind of pick, i guess some call it a “safe pick”.

D,
As I said, I think Phillips needs to focus on being a professional and make it his priority year long. He could lose some weight. Maybe the team wanted him heavier because he played more of a run stuffing role, but I’ve always felt he could be more effective if he dropped a few pounds. I’d like to see him around 315 not 335-40.

Randy — Phillips flashes, but think they want a stay at home stump DT in there on rush downs at least. Also pretty sure with Mitchell gone that there will a 3rd DT who will split time with mainly Phillips….and that guy can get winded too. Part of why Suh gets the big money is his motor and that he can stay in for like 85% of the snaps……pretty amazing that actually.

stanger,
Yep. That’s all true. But, I think it would be a waste if they want Phillips to just be a run stopper. He moves really well for such a big guy. He could be even better a little smaller, is all.

I agree
I think you are just looking for the best talent at LB
preferably we move Alonso outside and get a Mike
but when its said and done, I think if you have 3 solid LBs including Alonso that is the goal

So Alonso can stay outside if we draft/sign guys that our better fits for OLB

Interesting team draft ranking by total points on the Jimmy Johnson trade value chart. We come in #22 (1322 points), which is right about where we finished in the round selection. So our comp picks brought us back to “normal”.

If Warford gets near Zeitlers asking price then I’d just pay Zeitler the extra and get a cheaper option at LG. I wouldn’t sign both as you’d be asking one to become a LG & you don’t know how that transition would go.

Like I mentioned in my article, I’d love to get LB Malcolm Smith. I don’t think he’ll be expensive. He’s not not an upper echelon player, but he’s very fast, and can tackle. I think he’d give us plenty of flexibility too, because like Alonso, he can play inside or out. Just in case we can’t get the LB we want, it gives us a guy we can start, while if we draft a LB a little later, who may not be able to start right away, it gives him time to learn.

Am sure you are right, but don’t know enough about their football to comment. Only have the big names on my radar, so only looking for who those might be. Know there will be a bunch of others, but Smith and Joeckel sound good…..especially given the fill the need part.

Not that Spotrac is the end all, but they have Joeckel’s market value at under $2M per year. I think that might be on the low side, but even if it is, he’s not an expensive option. He’s basically a failed LT trying to play G, but I think if the right coach grabs a hold of this kid, he can be a quality player.

Not nearly as bad as Marino having a baby child, but still hurts on a player I liked.
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“Former NFL defensive back Will Allen was given six years in prison for his role in a Ponzi scheme, a harsher sentence than observers expected…. The scheme cost investors about $17 million.”

Perfect example of what I was talking about. Not that NFL.com’s ratings equate to our Front Office’s ratings, but NFL.com has Howard at 6.5, and Zach Cunningham is rated at 5.9. So my question is, if you have a need at both TE and LB (now, after signing Julius Thomas the equation has changed), but back when I put that out there, this is exactly what I meant. Do you take Cunningham if you have him rated at 5.9, or do you take Howard who you have at 6.5?
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Sorry Mike, didnt see this one yesterday. So lets start off with saying 6.5, 5.9 is NFL.com’s rating, in their opinion. IMO these numbers are completely worthless to me, and i would have my own numbers i have from scouting, combine, senior bowl, etc.

My number would probably start out with a base value, would scale up or down by where this player ranks within his position group for different aspects of how my offense uses a TE, or how i was intending to (in the case of i haven’t but only because i didn’t have the right person). I factor in also how much that player could potentially open up the entire offensive play book.

I now have a value of how he ranks withing his own position group, and what offset he is just on overall benefit to the team. I then factor in any other aspects that i might think are positives or negatives regarding him, be it personality issues, or weaknesses in their game play, poor development from college coaching staff etc and i wind up with a total value i have for the player.

Now factor in the Thomas trade. I go back and make an adjustment based upon my confidence im getting everything i expect from Thomas, my plan for using Thomas, how much i think he by himself completes my need at TE, and how many years i felt i was looking to keep him, etc. Of course other factors go in like if we are planning to re-sign Sims or not, or if we feel like any of the other TE’s can compliment Thomas enough to give us something comparable to Thomas and Howard on the same line. I adjust Howard’s number accordingly. Same thing gets done for each of the prospects on way to building a bigboard.

This is wordy, but what of my writings isnt. What i was hoping to illustrate with this is to me the score for the player to me is irrelevant to the value a team places on the player, and it could easily be that the two could be completely different, but yet still both be right for the reasons of doing them. No person or set of people at NFL.com can have all the information necessary to pick a number for any team in the NFL that would represent Howard effectively, so they literally could have not had a number and had a picture of a banana and it been just as accurate as the 6.5.

No doubt is OJ Howard a good TE prospect, and athlete, but who really cares if he isn’t the right fit for us, and what makes him the right fit takes factoring in a whole bunch of things that has nothing to do with some arbitrary player rating done by a writer, or even a group of writers, at ESPN, or NFL.com.

Not getting the 4th round comp pick hurts a little. Would have been really nice had it been a 3rd 4th and 5th or even 3rd 4th and 6th. That 4th basically causes us to lose a much more valuable pick, where as if we had got a 4th comp pick we would have given that one up and kept the higher value one. Im sure if we need to move around in the draft trades will be possible to get into the 4th, but i was really really hoping for that 4th comp.

For those that havent seen yet, we have 97th, 180th and 186th overall in comp picks.

Joeckel was a very highly rated prospect going into the draft. He wasn’t the most powerful guy, but a lot of guys aren’t until they hit the NFL training programs. he’s a very good athlete though, and supposedly, a pretty good technical player

I hate to add another post to this already “dead-horse” thread, but you keep missing the most important point, and it’s so frustrating to me. Forget that it’s NFL.com’s rating, mine was just a hypothetical, with the Dolphins FO having those ratings. Nothing else matters, just that the Dolphins have Howard at a 6.5, and Cunningham at 5.9. My question was with that being the case, would we take Cunningham over Howard? That’s it, it was just a hypothetical situation.

I don’t even know why I’m getting involved in this. There’s very little chance Howard would fall that far anyway. If he did, we’d be looking at another situation like last year where some kind of negative information came out about the player that caused him to drop.

If Howard did fall, depending on the reason, you may need to pass on him. So, a player with THAT grade, if there’s that much of a difference in your hypothetical wouldn’t be able to fall because you’ve got to consider other teams picking before MIA would have a similar grade.

The Flying Pig says:
March 1, 2017 at 1:53 pm
How much do you guys think the combo of Zeitler and Warford at OG will cost?
Would you guys like those fits?
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Pigs, I would guess $15-17 million a year for the two.

I talked about it with my wife the other day, but if you mean have we all picked a date yet, we have not. I think Stanger mentioned we have to decide earlier, so i think we will sooner this year than last year.

Just to add, now that we signed Julius Thomas, I think there’s zero chance we draft O.J. Howard, even if the grades were as I said, and he was there. Depending upon what else we do in FA, I think we likely go edge rusher or LB. OL would be 3rd behind DE and LB

I think $9 or 10 for Heil Zeitler and 7-ish for Daddy Warbucks. I know ghe talking heads are throwing out $11 or12 for der fuhrer, but the guy they are comparing him to is a left tackle. I think he goes for less.

I want to make sure I get the date for the fest. I just put a deposit down on season tickets, so I will be there.

Phelon; I paid for the entire season X 2 tickets in January. Looks like Mrs. OD has a pretty good chance of being in good enough health to attend SOME games. She’s STILL PISSED AT MANAGEMENT for the incident in the parking lot 3 seasons ago. And ALL OF MY “BOYZ” have let their tix lapse due to various disagreements with management. So it’s a NEW ERA for me, the Last of the Mohicans, er, “BOYZ.” –I’m hoping to attend live games for many more years. And oh how I want to see ONE MORE CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON!!
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AS for Fest days, I’d caution against September games, due to the excessive heat and the previously discussed “FRIED BACON FACTOR.” Beginning Oct. 15, the heat becomes slightly less oppressive and the incidence of hurricanes drops dramatically. South Florida has NEVER been hit by a major hurricane that developed AFTER Oct. 15.

I still think the guy we’re “targeting” in the first round is Tak McKinely at the spot we’re at. I think when they have everything set up they’re going to do their own estimation of who will be around at that spot and Tak is going to be the man.

ACCORDING TO THIS MORNING’S TAMPA BAY TIMES, Bucs’ starting RB Doug Martin likely won’t be part of this year’s team. Martin is rehabbing from a PEDS suspension and appears to be in really good shape. As many of you know, Martin set rushing records at Boise State which stood until broken by Jay Ajayi. IF Martin becomes a free agent, the Dolphins would be well advised to “kick the tires” for a possible back-up to Ajayi. Martin’s old contract was abrogated by his drug suspension. So he can be had for a bargain price. And he’s EXACTLY the kind of runner Gase LOVES!! –We’ve GOT to find a suitable back-up to Ajayi, a guy who, if called upon, has PROVEN he can rush for over 1000 yards a season. I’m NOT saying Martin STILL is THAT man. But I’d sure as hell bring him in for a work out!!!!!!
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Marlins at Mets, 1 PM, at Port St. Lucie live on MLB Network. Tempted to take ANOTHER day off. Last night I was thinking “Wouln’t it be GREAT if I could meet up with about a dozen “FESTERS” at the old ball yard today?” Might have to have a beer or two with Piggy, Mike E., and “The Boyz!” AH, ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE!!!